Vegas Golden Knights enforcer Ryan Reaves believes the 2020 postseason will be as intense as ever with the anticipation of hockey's return continuing to build throughout the NHL's lengthy hiatus.

“You’re sitting at home for four months, training, trying to stay ready for this,” Reaves said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. “Do you want to waste that four months for three games or five games? No. You’re going to battle your ass off.”

“There’s no time to act like this is an exhibition or a tuneup, because it’s not," he added. "I expect the very first game, very first puck drop, to be a playoff atmosphere, because you only get one shot. I expect it to be absolute wars out there.”

Reaves' Golden Knights, along with the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche, will compete in a round-robin tournament to decide the top four Western Conference seeds as part of the league's expanded 24-team playoff format.

Vegas won 11 of its final 13 contests before the season was suspended March 12, and Reaves believes the club can carry that momentum into the summer in hopes of capturing the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

“I’m anxious to get back on the ice, and I think everybody on this team is,” Reaves said. “We know we have a good team, and we have a good shot at winning the Stanley Cup. I know a lot of teams are going to say that, but we really believe that. We got the pieces. We were proving it down the stretch.”

The Golden Knights' tough guy, who led the club with 47 penalty minutes this season, is also excited to continue throwing his weight around.

“I’m getting the itch to put my fist through somebody’s face, or lay somebody out through the boards,” Reaves said.

Training camps are slated to begin July 10, but the league and players' association have yet to agree on an exact date for Phase 4 of the return-to-play plan, which is the official resumption of play.

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